Treatments for mental health issues

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A
good place to start if you want to talk to someone about your psychological and
emotional wellbeing is your GP. (GP is short for general practitioner,
sometimes also called a family doctor, or primary care doctor.)

Your
GP should have good knowledge of available services near where you live. There
may be people in the practice who specialise in psychological wellbeing and mental
health problems, or they may refer you to a local counsellor, therapist or
mental health team.

Talking therapies

Talking
therapies are designed to help people understand and control their feelings. Common
examples include counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), but there
are also other types. Some are more suited to certain conditions or situations
than others. Your GP or HIV healthcare team will be able to advise you on
whether one type of therapy is more suitable for you in your current situation.

Counselling
usually involves sessions of around an hour long, talking to a counsellor one
to one. If you access counselling through the NHS you will usually be offered 6
to 12 sessions free of charge. You should be able to talk about yourself, your
situation and your feelings. Sometimes, it is also useful for couples or
families to attend counselling sessions together.

CBT
may be offered by your GP if you have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety
or certain other psychological issues or mental illnesses, including
post-traumatic stress disorder or phobias. It aims to help you feel more able
to cope, by helping you think less negatively. Your therapist will work with
you to set goals for yourself, with tasks to complete before your next session.

Talking
therapies are available privately and through the NHS. They may be recommended
on their own, or in combination with medication or self-help programmes.

In
some areas there is high demand for these services and there may be a long
waiting list if you want to access them through the NHS. If you are in a
position to contribute to the cost of counselling sessions, you may be able to
pay for them privately.

If
you have recently been diagnosed with HIV, you may be able to access
counselling through your HIV clinic or an HIV support organisation, or be able
to attend a ‘newly diagnosed’ course.

Some
charities offer counselling free of charge, or at a reduced cost. Some private
therapists offer reduced rates for people with a low income. Your GP or HIV
healthcare team may know of local organisations, or you could search our online e-atlas for HIV organisations that may offer
counselling.

Antidepressants

If
you are diagnosed with depression, your GP may
recommend that you take antidepressant drugs, which relieve the symptoms of
depression by altering chemicals in the brain that influence mood and
behaviour. They can take several weeks to work and may have side-effects.

Although
there are three classes of antidepressant drugs used (tricyclics, MAOIs and
SSRIs), it is most likely that you will be offered a drug from the SSRI
(selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) class, which includes drugs like
fluoxetine (Prozac) and citalopram (Cipramil),
as these have fewest side-effects and interactions with other drugs.

The
amount of time you stay on antidepressants will depend on your individual
circumstances, and although you may start to feel better soon after starting to
take them, it is recommended that you remain on them for at least three months
if it is your first depressive illness.

Antidepressants
don’t cure depression, but they can help by reducing the symptoms you have.
This can mean that you feel more able to take steps to deal with the depression
in other ways.

It’s a good idea to tell your HIV doctor if you
have been prescribed antidepressant drugs, as it may affect your choice of HIV
treatment. It’s also important to note that the herbal antidepressant St John's
wort affects several anti-HIV drugs. Tell your HIV doctor, or another member of
your healthcare team, about any other treatments you are taking, even if they
were not prescribed by a doctor.

This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.

NAM’s information is intended to support, rather than replace, consultation with a healthcare professional. Talk to your doctor or another member of your healthcare team for advice tailored to your situation.